Tuesday, January 12, 2016

REVIEW: MEET THE PATELS

I’m sure that you’ve heard this before – “You have to meet so and so.” You might be one of those types whose defenses go up immediately. But this is a matchmaking in the unreal world of cinema. So relax, you will never meet these characters and I can confidently say that you have to meet the Patels! They are a lively immigrant family with one foot in the wonderfully rich cultural heritage of India and the other mired in the pressures of the American dream.

Ravi and Geeta are siblings. Ravi has just broken up with his Caucasian girlfriend of two years whom his parents know nothing about. Geeta is the cinematographer and she wields her camera with a terrific zeal, documenting a year in which her parents and all of their many friends and family across the U.S. try to find Ravi a wife. Poor Ravi. He is committed to this project and his exploits make you realize that truth is often wilder than fiction.

One very interesting aspect of the movie was the casual racist subtext – or not even subtext but text. At one point Ravi’s aunt says something like “I will never visit your home if you marry a white girl.” This movie lets it all hang out and you are along for the ride.

Even Variety, the mouthpiece for Hollywood, liked meeting the Patels! "Geeta V. Patel and Ravi V. Patel's documentary offers a sharp, often riotously funny take on the conflicts and compromises that all culturally nebulous families must navigate.”

Meet the Patels is back by popular demand, Monday Jan 18th and Tuesday Jan 19th, both showings at 9pm!